Study Finds Companies Benefit from CEOs with Military Past

Chief executive officers who served time in the military may get
better results for their companies and are lasting longer in their
jobs than those who didn't, a study by the world's largest executive-
recruiting firm suggests.

Fifty-nine companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 led by former
military people outperformed the index over one-, three-, five- and
10-year periods by 3 to 20 percentage points each year on average,
according to the study released today by Korn/Ferry International.

Ex-military chief executives also lasted longer in their
positions, serving an average of 7.2 years compared with 4.5 years
for S&P 500 chief executives, the study says.

"I don't think it's too surprising if you really think about it,"
said Joe Griesedieck, vice chairman and head of the CEO practice at
Korn/Ferry, who didn't serve in the military. "These executives
learned a number of things that have stood them well in their
current roles."

Griesedieck said the study doesn't suggest people without
military careers aren't necessarily good CEOs. "But there is a clear
trend here," he said.

Korn/Ferry interviewed four CEOs with military experience,
including Rockwell Collins Inc.'s Clayton Jones, a former Air Force
fighter pilot, and ITT Industries Inc.'s Steven Loranger, who served
in the Navy.

"What the military is really good at doing is teaching you to
plan and program," said Michael Jordan, Electronic Data Systems
Corp. …

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